West Virginia Mountaineers Football 10-year Review

College Sports Fans reviews the West Virginia Mountaineers, one of the top NCAA college football programs
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West Virginia Mountaineers Football

Consistency has been the name of the game for West Virginia in the last decade. The Mountaineers have appeared in a bowl game in every year dating back to 1996 accept for 1999 and 2001, which was an adjustment period with the end of famed coach Don Nehlen’s 20-year run and the start of the Rich Rodriguez era.

Despite a tremendous amount of success under the guise of Rodriguez (three-straight Big East titles from 2003-2005, and back-to-back 11-win seasons) West Virginia has only recently gotten national recognition in the last two seasons. Part of the reason is due in part to the sudden rise of the Big East Conference as a whole. The addition of Louisville a few years ago gave the conference another top tier team, and the emergence of Rutgers last season gave the Big East another marquee name. Of course the star power of quarterback Pat White and tailback Steve Slaton have helped bring West Virginia’s name to the masses as well.

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West Virginia Mountaineers Football Records

• 1996: 8-4 overall; 4-3 Big East (4th)

• 1997: 7-5 overall; 4-3 Big East (3rd)

• 1998: 8-4 overall; 5-2 Big East (4th)

• 1999: 4-7 overall; 3-4 Big East (5th)

• 2000: 7-5 overall; 3-4 Big East (6th)

• 2001: 3-8 overall; 1-6 Big East (7th)

• 2002: 9-4 overall; 6-1 Big East (2nd)

• 2003: 8-5 overall; 6-1 Big East (Champions)

• 2004: 8-4 overall; 4-2 Big East (Champions)

• 2005: 11-1 overall; 6-0 Big East (Champions)

• 2006: 11-2 overall; 5-2 Big East (2nd)

WVU Football Bowl Appearances

• 1996 – Gator Bowl: North Carolina 20 – West Virginia 13

• 1997 – Carquest Bowl: Georgia Tech 35 – West Virginia 30

• 1998 – Insight.com Bowl: Missouri 34 – West Virginia 31

• 2000 – Music City Bowl: West Virginia 49 – Mississippi 38

• 2002 – Continental Tire Bowl: Virginia 48 – West Virginia 22

• 2003 – Gator Bowl: Maryland 41 – West Virginia 7

• 2004 – Gator Bowl: Florida State 30 – West Virginia 19

• 2005 – Sugar Bowl: West Virginia 38 – Georgia 35

• 2006 – Gator Bowl: West Virginia 38 – Georgia Tech 35

WVU Football National Championships

• None

WVU Football Coaching Records

• Don Nehlen: 1980-2000 (149-93-4)

• Rich Rodriguez: 2001-Present (50-24 entering 2007 season)

WVU Mountaineers Football All-Americans

• 1996: Canute Curtis (LB)

• 2003: Grant Wiley (LB)

• 2006 – Dan Mozes (C), Steve Slaton (RB)

WVU Mountaineers Football Players Who Went Pro

• 1996: Aaron Beasley (CB), John Browning (DT), Kantroy Barber (RB), Lovett Purnell (TE)

• 1997: Mike Logan (CB), Canute Curtis (LB)

• 1998: Henry Slay (DT)

• 1999: Charles Fisher (CB), John Thornton (DT), Solomon Page (G), Gary Stills (LB), Amos Zereoue (RB), Kevin Landolt (DT)

• 2000: Anthony Becht (TE), Jerry Porter (WR), Barrett Green (LB), Marc Bulger (QB)

• 2003: Lance Nimmo (T), James Davis (LB)

• 2004: Quincy Wilson (RB)

• 2005: Pacman Jones (CB), Chris Henry (WR), Rasheed Marshall (WR)

• 2006: Dee McCann (CB)

WVU Football Future Outlook

West Virginia should likely continue its winning ways for a few more years to come. White and Slaton are both juniors, so this could be their final year at the collegiate level, especially for Slaton. If that is the case though, there are certainly some able-bodied individuals to fill their spots. Freshman running back Noel Devine has been nothing short of electrifying. A five-star recruit coming out of high school, Devine is averaging a ridiculous 9.9 yards per carry this season and has found the end zone three times. The only reason he’s carried the ball just 32 times is because he plays behind Slaton and White. Freshman quarterback Charlie Russell was also a fairly big name out of high school, ranked 20th in the nation at the position by Scout.com.

This year’s signing class is shaping up to be another solid one. Rodriguez has already gotten a definite verbal commitment from four-star running back Terence Kearns of Hargrave Military Academy and has a soft verbal from John Jenkins, the nation’s top offensive guard.

Don't miss the WVU Mountaineers basketball 10-year review exclusively on College Sports Fans, and be sure to check out all of the college football 10-year reviews.

By Joey Whelan, CollegeSports-fans.com Staff Writer
Published October 2007